I don't know a millimetre about Accel World! Episode Two
by Tusjecht
Summary: The developing Accelerated World progresses rapidly as new players are introduced to Brain Burst. Between recruiting new players, defending his territory, and keeping up with school, Gunsou quickly realises that there simply won't be enough Burst Points to go around. New enemies appear, ceasefires must be called, and Gunsou must come to terms with his own personal demons.
1. Introduction

**I don't know a millimetre about Accel World!**

 **Episode Two**

...

Summary:

The developing Accelerated World progresses rapidly as new players are introduced to Brain Burst.

Between recruiting new players, defending his territory, and keeping up with school, Gunsou quickly realises that there simply won't be enough Burst Points to go around.

New enemies appear, ceasefires must be called, and Gunsou must come to terms with his own personal demons.

...

Author's note: This is a sequel to an earlier story, **I don't know a millimetre about Accel World!** Next chapter may start off with a recap, if someone wishes it so.

* * *

Gunsou was only dimly aware of his surroundings. What he was seeing and hearing was not what was happening to him as he fought to keep his eyes open in class. How he longed to be back in bed, listening to his favourite songs and tucked into bed, instead of being made to listen to hours of lectures and slides of notes...

"Burst Link," he whispered, and the classroom turned electric blue. As soon as his body materialised in the virtual environment, Gunsou put his arms and head on his desk, and quietly went to sleep.

One Burst Point for thirty minutes of rest. He was quite aware that he was burning his hard-gotten gains at a phenomenal rate, but he needed to do this. Sleeping in the Accelerated World didn't quite get rid of the nagging sense of fatigue, but it allowed his cloudy mind to rest and get a break after spending yet another restless night tossing and turning in bed.

A warning chime prompted him to stir and rub his bleary eyes. His borrowed time was almost up, and the Brain Burst program would soon return him to reality, unless he spent another Burst Point. Gunsou declined and pushed away the dialog box, although he had a sinking feeling that he would be doing just exactly that soon. "Burst Out!" he called, and his senses returned - along with a strong sense of vertigo. It quickly passed, and he glanced around, hoping that nothing silly had happened while he was asleep for those two seconds-

Nothing. Everyone was either paying attention, or staring at their virtual slideshows listlessly like Gunsou. He still felt so very sleepy, and put up his hand.

"Yes, Kihara?" The teacher, in his mid-30s, looked up in surprise at the interruption in his lecture. "Permission to go to the bathroom, sir?" Gunsou said.

"O-of course," he blinked as he said, "You may go."

In the bathroom, Gunsou splashed cold water on his face, and wiped himself dry with paper towels. Examining himself in the mirror, he could only come to one conclusion: he looked like shit. Anyone would be able to tell that he wasn't getting enough sleep.

On average, he spent six Burst Points a day sleeping, another seven or eight Accelerating to duel every night, and then when he went to bed, he'd toss and turn for hours at a time, or fall straight to dreamland only to be awakened in the wee hours of the morning before the sun had risen. Technically, Gunsou did sleep for seven hours... It was just that it was all over the place. And all the time spent in a state of Acceleration had stretched his perception of a "day" by nearly six or seven hours too.

The more he needed sleep, the more he had to Accelerate. The more he Accelerated, the worse his day-night cycle was becoming. And he knew all too damn well that he was creating his own problem, but as he tossed the wad of paper towels away, Gunsou found that he could ignore these concerns. As he plopped back into his chair in the classroom, feeling like almost no time at all had passed, he rested his eyes on the little "B" icon in his virtual desktop.

Brain Burst. It made his boring days so much better.

It seemed like so long ago that Gunsou had had Brain Burst given to him by Mikiseki, swearing that he would uninstall what he called "a useless program." The fight with Klein Apprentice was messy and a waste of his time. Up until that point, Gunsou was ready to uninstall Brain Burst and go back to his old lifestyle with Misawa.

What he had not anticipated was how _good_ it felt to be a Brain Burst player. Or, as the moniker was going around, a Burst Linker. Klein Apprentice was a pain in his ass, but it turned out that he was a big bully to nearly everyone else - and when Turquoise Duro had beaten him down in a public duel, that was when Gunsou made a name for himself. Everyone knew him by reputation, if not by name! In his regular duels, cheers could be heard from the spectators whenever he got in a good hit or won a duel. To see and hear these other players encouraging him was an incredible boost to his confidence.

Several particularly clever Burst Linkers were even able to develop an app to keep track of duels and win results. Gunsou didn't understand all of the jargon, but in a long conversation with Tin Writer, he got the gist of it, that he had presumably discovered the server which Brain Burst always connected to. Among other information that he could find was that every player was keeping their own records of their level, who they fought, skills and equipment used, and even if they learnt a skill during a battle.

The app was distributed to quite a number of Burst Linkers, and now Gunsou was using it every day to check his win rate. It was holding steady over the last month at 60%, certifying his status as one of the top five players in Brain Burst. Unfortunately, the names of other players was not in English, but rather a meaningless string of numbers - some kind of ID assigned to every player. Until he personally discovered who the other four players were, Gunsou would have to settle for being third-best in the Accelerated World.

Third-best wasn't too bad for a boy that still fell asleep in class on an embarrassingly frequent basis.

* * *

The Scissor Claw is one of the most common Enemies found in the Unlimited Neutral Field. A vaguely reptilian bipedal creature with no less than eight arms, each ending in a razor-sharp claw, engaging one of these things at close range was tantamount to suicide. They were agile, they were fast, and whenever Guardsman Railgun spotted one of them lumbering around in the game, he usually turned tail and noped right out of there.

But today, the Scissor Claw in the middle of the street let out a final growl as it toppled over onto the street, a hole the size of a dinner plate punched into its chest. It collapsed with a hollow thud and finally disappeared into a shower of glitter, which too faded from view within seconds. All that was left was a copper card, the size and shape of a playing card, and a girl's hand that was stirring from the pile of rubble she had been knocked into.

Spring Renascentia scowled at Railgun's hiding spot as she healed herself and massaged her hands, walking over to pick up the Copper Card that had been dropped. "You sure took your time with that shot!" she said shrilly. The card disappeared in her hands and a dialog box appeared: ten Burst Points had been added to her inventory.

For the last few hours, hunting Enemies together was what Railgun and Renascentia had been doing; as fast as possible, as efficiently as possible. Their second kill of the day had at least allowed them to break even, so to speak, as it cost each of then ten Points each to enter the Unlimited Neutral Field.

"At least let me rest," Renascentia whined. "Being bait for Enemies is tiring! You just sit there and charge your gun and wait until I come running. Hmph!"

Guardsman Railgun shrugged and looked away. "It's best for both of us. Play to our strengths, waste no time, and you'll get what you want."

"I want a bath," she said, "The dust just sticks to you and never really comes off. I need some heals of my own, too! I'm all out of Special Gauge. If only we could just use the Zone..." she stared longingly at a large grey dome in the distance, letting her voice trail off.

"Zones don't have baths," Railgun said. "They just have a place to rest and eat. Why would a game like this have a freaking bath?"

Renascentia's eyes lit up. "They absolutely do! Some of the upgraded Zones have baths of their own to use, for free! Can you believe that? I'm telling you, it's absolutely worth it to try and get one of our own!"

"Absolutely not." Railgun dismissed the idea. "Unoccupied ones have Death Claws around them. They're going to be even harder than Scissor Claws, and hell if you think I'm going to fight those."

"At least try," Renascentia said, "Or you know, ask to join one. Work together, team up, reap the rewards as one. How about that? C'mon, it'll be fun!" she added.

"No!" Railgun stood up and turned to go. "Let's go find another area to hunt."

"Please?"

And Railgun made a fatal mistake that evening by turning to glance at Spring Renascentia. Eyes wide, lips pouted, hands pressed together at her chest. Even as she murmured it again, Railgun could feel his resolve wavering. _Don't give in,_ he thought, _Don't give in to her silly whims..._

"Fine," he said, "Let's go take a look."

Renascentia whooped and jumped for joy. "Yes! I can have a bath!" she gleefully shouted as she hopped from one foot to another. Railgun hung his head, muttering "I'm going to regret this," under his breath, as they set off in the direction of the nearest Dome.

The domes scattered around the virtual city in the Accelerated World represented Zones, areas where neither Enemies nor other players could enter, and you could rest inside them. But that wasn't their main benefit - it was all about claiming ownership of them for the real schtick. Just like how Turquoise Duro had beaten his opponents in regular duels to claim the Zone, one could also make their way inside them, solve a simple puzzle, and claim ownership over the Zone by accepting the Token, a badge of sorts. Claiming a Zone allowed its members to earn much more Burst Points for every Enemy they killed, allowing them to earn Points at a much faster rate.

The downside was that it also painted themselves as a target, so to speak. Guardsman Railgun had worked his own way up to Level 4, and he was well-aware of the two things that made people lose: working with other people, and taking unnecessary risk. When you worked with other people, especially players you've never met before, you were taking on the burden of an unspoken agreement to save his ass if he got into trouble. And he wouldn't ever need help, because he never got into trouble so bad to need saving.

And unnecessary risk was advertising himself as the owner of a Zone. Not only would word get around quickly when a Zone was taken, Tokens themselves could literally be pulled off their owner if they lost a duel to another player. His efforts to claim ownership would be wasted, more enemies might come after him just for that one little badge, and above all, he preferred to simply do his own thing over being a glorified security guard. His partnership with Spring Renascentia was tolerated for as long as they could kill six Enemies a day (an arbitrary threshold to give her the impression of a fair deal). If she ever turned her back on him, well, he could just camp her easy and kill her avatar over and over again until she stopped giving him problems.

Of course, he had never said that out loud, but he thought she knew it well enough. Because of the implication of saying "No," to whatever he asked of her. Not that anything bad _would_ happen to her, but given that it was rare to see another person in the Unlimited Neutral Field, where even logging in a minute after someone else would mean sixteen hours' delay, getting assistance from a passerby was practically a joke.

Yet another reason why Guardsman Railgun preferred to work alone, anyway; teaming up with someone stronger than himself was a risk for himself.

* * *

"One more! Give me your best shot, girl!"

Cul Seeker needed no more encouragement. She sprang forwards, launched a straight for her opponent's face. Before her fist had even landed, she threw an uppercut. Bending and straightening her legs to give it more power. Straight, left hook, right hook, and a straight in quick succession. But Cove Fighter lazily blocked it all with his hands, forming a blue blur in the air as he countered everything she threw.

Where Cul Seeker would have given up last time from fatigue, she pressed the attack. She had not spent days training against her mentor to merely give up at the slightest sign of resistance! Straight, an uppercut, and a hook for his chin - Cove Fighter grunted as he blocked her slender forearm. Not enough to stop her grazing his forehead.

He just slightly taller than her, but not much heavier. Each step forwards as Cul Seeker continued her barrage of fists and jabs had to be answered with a step backwards by Cove Fighter. She put in all of her strength into a palm strike. Cove Fighter blocked it again by crossing his arms in front of his chest, but took two steps back to remain upright. A chance! Cul Seeker aimed her left fist at his ankle and shouted "Rocket Grab!"

Her outstretched left hand detached and fired! Fighter twisted away in a futile attempt to dodge; the fist rocketed through the air, latched on to his shin, and pulled the cable connected to itself as taut as piano wire. "Gotcha!" Cul Seeker pulled back with all her strength. A resounding CRASH echoed throughout the Unlimited Neutral Field as Cove Fighter fell on his back. He slapped the floor twice and flashed the OK sign - he was done.

"I won! I finally won that one!" She lept and punched the air. Cove Fighter sighed and chuckled as he got up, stretching his arms above his head and cracking his knucles. "Well, that's still with the Armament I gave you. Remember - those gauntlets aren't invincible, and they're just equipment. They can get you out of a pinch, but it'll never hold up against someone who knows their schtick."

Cul Seeker huffed irritably and crossed her arms several times, trying to adjust to the bulky gadgets. Finally she pulled the right gauntlet off her hand, examining it and its moving parts. She looked at it, and then at her hands, and back to Cove Fighter again. "Those gauntlets didn't look like how they did when you gave them to me. How come?"

An intrigued Cove Fighter took the gauntlet from her and looked closely. When he had accepted her request to teach her in Brain Burst, he expected her to listen to him explain about the game - how to use its controls, spending Points for Acceleration, and so on. The first question out of her mouth was "How do I fight?"

And he was since floored by her fighting spirit and willingness to learn. She didn't seem to mind much that she was a purplish-red avatar with a natural inclination to use the grappling wires built into her hands. No, Cul Seeker wanted to know how to punch. The _Steel Gauntlets_ he had given to her was primarily to aid this purpose, although they had simply looked more like forearm guards when he had taken it off himself and transferred it to her. Now, they looked more like a pair of large gloves, if gloves were armoured and had thickened protection for her wrists. Each Steel Gauntlet also had an aperture at the base of the palm - presumably for her regular attack _Wire Hook_. And for when she used her special move _Rocket Grab_ , there seemed to be a seam where the gauntlet's entire hand would detach and blast off together with her hand as well.

Besides "hooking" her opponents and dragging them to her, it was under his tutelage that Cul Seeker quickly learnt how to use her skills to close the gap and pack a nasty punch to follow up. In the two months she had been playing, she hit Level 4 the quickest out of all the players he had ever taught. To be fair, she was taking the all-in approach against low-level players, and had never suffered a serious defeat yet. If she were to meet someone who could break her fists…

Well, that time had yet to come, so he'd let it stay that way, Cove Fighter thought.

"Well, what's next?" Cul Seeker asked excitedly. "Are we going to hunt the Enemies you talked about?" Cove Fighter shook his head. "Even Tier One Enemies are going to be difficult for a new Level 4 player like you. Hell, I'm almost Level 5 and I still won't dare to take one alone! We're better off leaving those for later."

He gestured at the Leave Point a short distance away, a shining pillar of rainbow light that stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the building's interior. "Let's take a break. You came from school, right? Go offline and meetup at the cafe again. Then… We're gonna see who's online first before you have your real solo fight."

Cul Seeker nodded. "Alright! See you soon, Aoba!" She walked off ahead of him, touched the Leave Point, and vanished in a starburst. A flustered Cove Fighter took a few more seconds to muse over being called by name before following her.

Matsumato Aoba tapped the button of his Neuro Linker as soon as he exited Acceleration to disconnect from the Global Net. He yawned, stretched, and rose up from the park bench he had been sitting on. It was a sunny afternoon and school students like him were everywhere, walking to malls and along the streets, talking and laughing and doing whatever people did in groups. Not him. He very much preferred to be alone sometimes.

She was already there when he reached his regular coffee shop, sipping an iced tea when he entered the shop and took his seat across from her. Her hair had been dyed black, though some red streaks were still visible. It was a shame, Aoba thought. He liked Misawa a little bit more with her natural hair colour.

"Hello, Aoba." "Hey."

She stared pointedly at him as he typed in his order into the shop's virtual menu. "So, what have we come here for?" she asked.

"I have heard from a reputable source that there's going to be a battle for Zone One today," Aoba said. "Someone's ready to make a move on the area, and he'll be there to duel the owner as soon as he walks through it. As you might remember, there's only two ways to claim a Zone, a protected area within the Unlimited Neutral Field: either you fight your way through a series of Enemies in the Field, or win enough duels within the Zone's area in a small window, which opens…" Aoba consulted his virtual desktop's clock, "In five minutes from now."

Misawa nodded. "Tell me about who owns which Zones again." Aoba opened the chat application in Brain Burst, which came with the added functionality of not requiring Acceleration to work. He scrolled to a draft message and read aloud.

"Zone One in Shibuya is owned by Turquoise Duro. He's a formidable close-quarters fighter - we duel every once in awhile. He's good at both offense and defense with his versatile armour, called _Saint's Fist_."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Misawa bite her lip and clasp her hands, but since she didn't tell him to stop, he continued on.

"Zone Three in Suginami has a new owner called Garnet Artillery. He's fast, quick on his feet, and quite a lot of firepower at his disposal. I don't know much about him."

"Zone Seven in Nagano is captained by Plasma Horizon…" he began, but then Misawa raised her hand slightly to interrupt. "Sorry, but why is Zone One being contested in particular? Why not take another Zone that's empty?"

Aoba shrugged. "I was going to get to that. Zone One in particular is close to a bunch of dungeons, which some of us think is hiding powerful and valuable treasure at the bottom. There's others in Shinjuku and Chiyoda, but the duels there are getting really heated, and there's no telling who's going to come out on top."

"Also…" Aoba took a look at a single word he wrote at the bottom of his notes, "Apprentice - Klein Apprentice has a grudge against Turquoise Duro for beating him right when Zones were first released. He thinks he got cheated out of a fair fight, but everyone knows he's just salty. Oh well."

"Salty?" she asked. Aoba's coffee arrived, and he was glad for the distraction. "Thank you," he murmured, before turning back to her. "You were saying?"

"Never mind," she waved it off. "It's so difficult to remember all the terms in this game!"

Aoba nodded and sipped his coffee, savouring its invigorating aroma. "Yeah, it can get a little overwhelming."

The time ticked closer to 4 in the afternoon. In just about another two minutes, the contest for Zone One's ownership would begin. They'd go online, and wait for someone to begin a duel; spectators got to watch duels free of charge, as long as they had picked the player of their choice to follow.

"Say, M-Misawa… Why do you like playing the game?" Aoba leaned forwards slightly to ask. "You don't sound like a typical gamer. Is there something, or someone…?"

A tinge of red crept over her cheeks as Misawa's gaze grew tense. "Nothing at all," she said, "I'm just interested in the game after I heard about it from someone! He seemed to like it a lot, so I'm wondering what's there to it."

Aoba's expression remained neutral, but he was both happy and disappointed internally. Girls only behaved like this when there was someone else they liked, wasn't it? He drained the little cup of coffee, tapping a few buttons on his virtual desktop to pay for the drink. "It's time," he said. "Connect to the Global Net, and set your Brain Burst status to 'Watching'. That way, you won't be challenged, but you can't challenge others either." Misawa nodded and her fingers flicked and slashed through the air, pressing buttons on her virtual desktop. Aoba's mind wandered for a second, wondering how those fingers would feel like in his hands. Would they be warm? They looked soft. Nothing at all like the hard and cold punches of the bullies in the alley-

He shut down that train of thought right away. This was no time to think about such sad things. Both their Neuro Linkers' lights blinked a cool blue to indicate that they were connected. He stared at the wooden grain of the table, Misawa idly played with her hair. A minute passed in silence.

SLAM!

Their surroundings turned electric blue. **[A REGISTERED DUEL IS BEGINNING!]** Words in fiery letters announced.

.

To be continued!


	2. Battle Lines

**Battle Lines**

.

The garish, torchlit city, or what was left of it, never failed to amaze Gunsou whenever he laid eyes on it. It seemed so real that he would have otherwise fallen for the illusion that he was standing in the ruins of Tokyo, many years after some apocalyptic event had razed its proud buildings to the ground. The jangle of rusty chains filled the air as the game interface dropped down from the sky, hovering above his head; Turquoise Duro stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles.

Berry Dragoon seemed to be nowhere in sight, but spectating players all around him were jumping and climbing buildings to get a good view of the action. The Guide Cursor - a translucent blue compass - pointed towards a squat building across the street, so he headed that way.

"Good luck, boy!" Someone called. It was Cove Fighter, waving his arm in encouragement. Besides him was a newcomer - a dark red avatar with a distinctive ponytail hair attachment. Gunsou waved in return, but he let his gaze linger slightly. Something about that duel avatar felt off to him...

He shook the feeling and prepared to fight. Berry Dragoon, a known Level 4 player. He was active in the Zone adjacent to his - Shinjuku, he recalled. Was this an attempt to invade his territory? A window smashed overheads, and his opponent lept out, tucked into a ball, and landed gracefully on the ground. While his first impressions didn't particularly intimidate Gunsou, it was the long, pointed spear in his hand that drew his attention.

"Hello there!" He shouted, "If you know what's good for you, give up now."

Gunsou almost scoffed at the empty threat. "And you won't?"

Berry Dragoon spun his spear in his hands and flourished it. "I've got buddies who will beat your ass into a pulp. You're nothing to me. I'll have you hand over Zone ownership by the end of this fight-"

Gunsou moved. He slapped aside the spear and closed in with a kick. Berry Dragoon stopped grinning and started backtracking. Turquoise Duro's fists passed through empty air, each punch carrying enough force to decimate Berry Dragoon and his lighter armour.

"That's the problem with all you brutes," Berry Dragoon yelled between dodges. "You all underestimate the value of speed!"

He put all his strength into pumping his legs. Berry Dragoon made a turn only as large as his arm's width, and charged Turquoise Duro's unprotected flank! Already, he could see a plate of armour rising up from his legs to cover - but it wasn't fast enough. "Hi-yahh!" Berry Dragoon sank his spearhead into Duro's sides.

Stifling his groan of pain, Gunsou grabbed the spear in his sides and turned, forcing Berry Dragoon to follow him. He couldn't cover that spot while the spear remained.

He punched twice and kicked, forcing his enemy back. As soon as Berry Dragoon loosened his grip, Gunsou turned the other way and backed up - pulling the spear free at last. He bit his lip as he tugged the spear out of his sides and tossed it - the exchange had taken out more health than he'd like.

A rasp of metal on metal echoed through out the stage. Berry Dragoon pulled a knife out of a sheath on his thigh and crouched. A trap? Or a taunt? Gunsou narrowed his eyes as he tensed. He braced, and kicked out with all his might, launching himself towards Berry Dragoon. His opponent loomed large - and then Berry Dragoon disappeared in a flash of light! A skill? Gunsou's eyes flicked towards the Special Gauge. Berry Dragoon's seemed to have decreased, but he hadn't been minding it.

Unfortunately, this meant that he forgot the first rule that Cove Fighter had taught him - never take your eyes off your enemy.

"You're going to die!" Berry Dragoon shrieked. He landed on Turquoise Duro's shoulders, staggering slightly, and sank his dagger into his enemy's head and shoulders. He got in three good strikes before Turquoise Duro finally got a firm grasp on him, and bodily threw him into a car wreck! The knife clattered to the ground as Berry Dragoon got to his feet, but his eyes lit up as he spotted his spear a few metres away.

But Turquoise Duro had recovered. His eyes blazed in frustration and red sparks sprayed from wounds in his shoulder. Armour shifted to his fists as he caught hold of Berry Dragoon's ankle, and mercilessly dragged him back. "You're not getting away with that, you cheating brat!"

Locking both his hands onto Berry Dragoon's ankle, Turquoise Duro twisted - swinging his hapless enemy around like a ragdoll. A full revolution was enough to get him up to speed, and he hurled Berry Dragoon into a concrete wall with an earthshattering _WHAM!_ The wall crumbled and collapsed all around Berry Dragoon, taking huge chunks of health out of his Gauge.

Stretching his hands and massaging his neck, Gunsou watched grimly as Berry Dragoon clambered out of the rubble. The fight wasn't over just yet - they still had plenty of time to duel - but the disparity in their Health Gauges meant that Berry Dragoon would have to equalise with some sort of Ability. He reached down and plucked the spear that Berry Dragoon had been wielding earlier - except for the sharp fins along its length, it didn't seem particularly remarkable, but-

"Get your hands off my weapon!" Berry Dragoon shrieked. His crazed expression bemused Gunsou as he dashed towards him, and attempted to snatch the spear out of his hands. But Turquoise Duro was substantially heavier than Berry Dragoon was - it took almost no effort to drag the spear out of its owner's grasp, and kick him back to create some distance. Gunsou eyed his adversary. Was it worth the gamble to see what Berry Dragoon was really capable of?

Gasps echoed all around them as Gunsou tossed the spear towards Berry Dragoon. "Here you go," he said, "If you need it that much, make it count."

He checked his Special Gauge - it was easily half-full. Enough for his own Abilities to get him out of a bind. Berry Dragoon twirled his weapon and snarled as he drew it back. "I'll make you regret that!" He lunged, thrusting multiple times with his spear. Armour plates clanged and sparked as Gunsou deflected hit after hit.

He couldn't keep it up forever; each hit was shaving off bits of Health Gauge. As though he was thinking of the same thing, Berry Dragoon drew back, dropped to a crouch, and swept his spear around in a single fluid motion! Turquoise Duro's legs were swept out from below him, sending him crashing to the floor.

Berry Dragoon raised his spear and jammed it onto a palm-sized emblem on Turquoise Duro's chest - the Token signifying ownership of Zone One. It creaked and emitted sparks as the point dug into his chest. Gunsou groaned and grabbed the spear with both his hands, but Berry Dragoon leaned all of his weight onto the spear, and refused to budge.

"Give. Me. That. Token." He growled, "I need it!"

"Get off my chest!" Gunsou grunted. _Saint's Fist_ kicked in as he struggled: five plates rushed up each arm, forming a vise grip around the spear. Gunsou took a deep breath, and _pushed_ \- extricating the spear head out of a newly-created notch in his armour. He let go of one hand, and let Berry Dragoon's weight bring him within arm's reach. " _Flick Rammer!_ " he called.

 _WHAM!_ The punch forced Berry Dragoon back in a flash of light. Gunsou got to his feet, retracting his armour back up to his forearms, and patting the Token on his chest.

Both fighters were almost even in Health remaining, but Turquoise Duro's special gauge was nearly empty. In contrast, Berry Dragoon's was shining bright green, a full gauge waiting to be used.

"You stupid fool," Berry Dragoon sneered, "All my power is in this Armament. One way or another, I'll pry that thing off your chest."

His Special Gauge drained to one-thirds full, and his spear began to glow purple. "Now die! _Long Lance!_ "

Armour rushed to his hands and Gunsou put them up to block; a bolt of purple lightning crossed the distance in a fraction of a second.

 _THUD-FSSSHH!_ He caught it! But only just - Gunsou's eyes widened as the spear in his hands began to push him back. An incredible heat built up in his hands. His feet slipped, he fell backwards, and almost instantly, he slammed into a wall. The impact knocked him breathless and he lost half his remaining Health.

As the cackles of Berry Dragoon filled his ears, Gunsou looked down at his hands. They were blackened and sore, and as he willed the armour to move back to his forearms, several large chunks disintegrated completely and clattered to his feet. If Berry Dragoon used Long Lance again, he probably wouldn't survive it.

So that was his win condition - prevent Berry Dragoon from using Long Lance. He clenched his fists and cracked his knuckles.

The spear had reappeared back in Berry Dragoon's hands. An annoyance, but one that could be dealt with. No spear, no Abilities, and no chance of another comeback. Gunsou took a deep breath as he recalled his fight with another close-ranged combatant that relied on a weapon…

Berry Dragoon attacked first - he swung his spear low to sweep out his feet. Gunsou hopped over it and dashed forwards. He deflected Berry Dragoon's thrust that followed up, and punched his throat!

His injured hand stung, but the lightly-armoured Berry Dragoon choked and grasped his neck in pain. Blows like that stunned most other players, he knew from experience. Boys thought below-the-belt hits were dirty, but they weren't lethal, not in a virtual reality.

Gunsou kicked Berry Dragoon's other hand; he knocked the spear out of his grasp. It clattered to the ground a distance away. Berry Dragoon yelled and swung wildly. Gunsou blocked, slapped his enemy's cheek, and sank an uppercut deep into Berry Dragoon's chest. No gasps of pain came - he had knocked the breath out of his opponent.

Berry Dragoon wheezed, the air whistling as he inhaled tortuously, and attempted to kick his groin. Gunsou lazily blocked with a stray plate of armour, then kicked his shin. An ominous crack echoed around the stage, along with Berry Dragoon's strangled cry. A punch to the side of his face to crack his helmet and stun him for a second. Gunsou grasped a fin on Berry Dragoon's head, and dragged him down to bring his nose to his knee!

 _WHAM!_ He felt Berry Dragoon shudder as his knee crushed the brittle plates of his face. Red sparks sprayed from Berry Dragoon's head, and he staggered drunkenly as Gunsou let go of him. It was almost pitiful to look at him - unarmed, injured, and one step away from giving up…

Perhaps he'd give him that chance another day. Gunsou twisted, spun, and launched a roundhouse kicked that connected with Berry Dragoon's chest. The sliver of Health Gauge he had left evaporated - Berry Dragoon's avatar shattered into a starburst of pixels.

 **[YOU WIN!]**

A smattering of nervous applause reached his ears. Praise? Gunsou looked up to see a few duel avatars grinning and cheering for him. He massaged his hands and felt the pains and strains of combat in them, feelings that he had never experienced in the real world.

Was this truly his style? It didn't feel very good. He tried to remember the impulse that drove him to knee Berry Dragoon's face. It seemed like such a terribly natural instinct in the heat of the moment…

Perhaps he should take care of other things first. Why was he fighting to begin with? Gunsou glanced around at the spectators: Most of them were familiar faces, save for the dark red girl and a huddle of players grouped around a pale yellow boy, staring right at him. Out of these twenty or thirty players here, there were surely a few others looking to challenge him for control of Zone One.

"I thought I needed to make an impression," he spoke aloud to no one in particular. Yet, the deep voice of Turquoise Duro made him sound much older than he really was, and the murmur of conversation quickly silenced themselves.

He continued, feeling his mouth dry a little. "Berry Dragoon was a respectable opponent, up until the end. I can't say I won't be kind to the next person, though."  
Cove Fighter nodded approvingly from the sides. That dark red duel avatar, she seemed to be staring into his soul. Suddenly, he realised, this was an opportunity. What if…?

"So let's not do that." He looked around at twenty faces of surprise and disbelief. "Join me. Join me, and.. And we'll work together. I'll keep you safe. And, um, t-thank you." He said quietly.

.

"Did you plan any of that out, or was that off the top of your head?"

Gunsou shrugged. The armoured shoulders of Turquoise Duro rose and fell to mirror his gesture, as he and Cove Fighter sat on several large chunks of collapsed wall. In the distance, two other Burst Linkers were battling in their own duel; no one had challenged Turquoise Duro after that little speech.

"I didn't plan any of it. I just went with whatever I wanted to say," Gunsou said. "And I think it's right. It's the right thing to do."

"Why?"

That single word uttered by Cove Fighter made Gunsou's train of thought screech to a halt. Did he just ask why was he doing the right thing? What other reason would there be for doing the right thing, than that it is the correct action to take?

"Honestly, I don't know. I never thought about it. Would you join?" he suddenly blurted out. Cove Fighter blinked and stared at Gunsou as he leaned forwards. "Would you, well, don't you want to join my Zone as a member?"

The pale blue duel avatar that he regarded as friend and mentor chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Turquoise Duro," he said, uncharacteristically polite. "I like helping people like you do, too, and being part of a Zone… Being a member of any Zone wouldn't change a thing. I'd still do my thing."

"I see," Gunsou replied. There was no hiding the look of disappointment on his face, and he sat down heavily.

Cove Fighter reached out and bumped his arm. "Don't give up hope, dude! Maybe, someone who heard that recruitment talk of yours will come over! Someone like…"

 _Tap, tap tap_. Soft footsteps echoed off the walls, barely audible over the sounds of combat and yelling.

"…Like a player that's looking for someone to team with." Cove Fighter finished with a smile.

"H… Hi, Turquoise Duro?" a wavering female voice said from his other side. He whirled around to greet her-

"I'm Halide Beacon! It's.. It's nice to meet you!" A light yellow Burst Linker smiled and bowed slightly.

"Oh… Hi there," Gunsou nodded, trying to hide the disappointment on his face. "So, uh, you came to ask..? Do you want to join my Zone as a member?"

"Oh, no. Not just yet, actually." She shook her head. "How many other people are in this, currently? If it's just you, then…"

"It is just me, yes," Gunsou answered hastily. "I haven't really asked anyone else, so.."

Halide Beacon giggled and turned away shyly. "I'm sorry, Turquoise Duro. Maybe next time."

That set the trend for each subsequent attempt to recruit someone; anyone Gunsou approached, if they didn't ignore him to watch the duel, they turned away and declined his request, or made up excuses that were transparent lies. Why wouldn't people want to ally with someone stronger, Gunsou wondered. He would. With players like Berry Dragoon and Klein Apprentice running around, who knew what other strong, power-hungry players were there?

He sat down heavily next to the last person he hadn't approached - Tin Writer, a blocky, comically small duel avatar. Gunsou had only ever seen him with one piece of equipment - the laptop he carried, and presently was typing furiously on. "Hey Writer. What are you working on?"

"List of Zones and known members," he said. "Sounds easy, but the location info from duels doesn't match up exactly with a map of Tokyo. I had to cross-reference with a known location - the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda - and then assign locations as aliases for location data."

"Interesting, interesting," Gunsou mumbled. "What does it take to build a team…"

"Don't feel bad. There are two other Zones that have Owners but no other members."

"And why is that so?" Gunsou turned to look at Tin Writer. "How did they get their members? How do they work together? Is it because they know each other in real life, or… I don't know, there has to be something!"

Tin Writer ceased typing and looked directly at Gunsou. Despite the glasses he wore, Gunsou felt a shudder run up his back as Tin Writer stared into his soul.

"Are you dumb? No one does anything for free. Either they choose to do something, or they get paid for it. Look at me," Tin Writer raised his arms and wagged a finger at his laptop. "Do I look like a duel avatar?"

"N-no." Gunsou said. For some reason, he felt very small, like he was being lectured.

"I hardly have anything to protect myself. So I… I make an exchange! People pay me Burst Points to research. I used my knowledge of hacking to create the apps you use every time you play Brain Burst! It's how I have like, a 90% winrate, hahaha."

"Surely you don't mean I actually pay people to join my team, do you?" Gunsou asked, bemused by Tin Writer's change in demeanour. "Isn't that what joining a Zone is all about? To make more Burst Points than what a solo player can?"

He coughed and adjusted his glasses. "It's more than just points. You're not going to make it work, the way you're doing now."

Tin Writer picked up his laptop - then he paused, glancing at Gunsou, around them, and back to him again. He tiptoed closer and lowered his voice. "Promise me you won't show anyone else."

Perplexed, Gunsou nodded. "What is it?" he asked.

Tin Writer gestured at the spectators around them. "We're just spectators, I can't ask for payment now. The next time you want to ask me for an update, remember: you owe me."

He opened his laptop and practically shoved the screen into Gunsou's face. "What is this-" Gunsou began.

[FACTIONS]

/ subject to change

Z1: SHIBUYA. Members: Turquoise Duro (O) Players: Cove Fighter, Cul Seeker.

Z2: SHINJUKU. Players: Berry Dragoon, Lucky Lunatic, Zinc Swan / Infighting.

Z3: SUGINAMI. Players: Garnet Artillery (O), Vulcan Pierce, Cinder Jackson. / Mutual interests.

Z4: BUNKYO.

Z5: MINATO. /* Big mess. */ Players: Bahia Cartoon, Turbo Strain, Klein Apprentice, Sunray Architect, Guardsman Railgun, Spring Renascentia.

Z6: TOSHIMA.

Z7: NAKANO. Members: Gorse Theory (O), Eternity Moment, Apple Panzer, Oxide Lock, Royal Duke, Lime Musician. / Friends, same school.

"You see all that?" Tin Writer snapped. "Now remember that, I'm not showing you that list again. That's something I'm not giving away until you pay me." He slammed the laptop shut and plopped on a rusting drum across from Gunsou.

"What was that?" Gunsou asked. "I know some of those players. What are they doing there?"

"Those are all Level 4 players. Active ones. And they're all interested in capturing zones. Most of the rest are busy killing each other. But in the case of Nakano…" he leaned in and lowered his voice, "The owner and his friends are together because the owner asked for help."

Tin Writer held up a hand at this point, and made a 'shush' gesture, putting a finger to his lips. "That's all I think I'll tell you. You're one of the smarter ones, you'll figure it out."

A yell of pain came from the combatants. Tin Writer hopped off his barrel and nodded at Gunsou. "Sounds like I've got Points to collect. Bye!"

And he scuttled away to look for a vantage point that wasn't already crowded with people. Gunsou sighed and mulled over Tin Writer's words.

Because he had asked for help? The name 'Gorse Theory' rung no bells with Gunsou. That wasn't surprising, though. He mostly duelled people in Shibuya anyway. Nakano was separated from Shibuya by Shinjuku, so he was even less likely to run into someone traveling from there. The matchmaking list only showed players within the same Zone.

Also, asking Cove Fighter for help hadn't exactly worked out. "Friends," Tin Writer had wrote. Was it just because of that? That he had to have friends? Who did he know in this game, Gunsou listed names as he mumbled to himself. The answer didn't come - there was none."Do I really have to go to Nakano to find out how to assemble a team?" Gunsou wondered.

He sighed and got up. He might as well spectate the rest of the duel while he was here; there was still another ten minutes to go on the duel. Should he leave now, and see if anyone else was going to challenge him for Zone ownership? He might then go home and sleep… That sounded like a very attractive option.

"I'll kill you!"

A very familiar cry of pain filled the air. Gunsou did a double-take as he checked the names of the duel participants - one was Berry Dragoon. And the other… Cul Seeker? Was this a new player?

Curiousity turned Turquoise Duro back to the battleground. Jogging back towards the streets, he followed the sounds of combat and turned a corner. And there they were. Berry Dragoon was at the far end of the street, breathing heavily and leaning on his spear. He was clearly wounded and down to half health. But standing closer to him, with her back to Turquoise Duro… it was the reddish female player who had caught his gaze earlier. "Cul Seeker?" Gunsou called.

She turned around, and transfixed him with a stare. Her ponytail - duel avatars had hair accessories, Gunsou never knew that before - swung this way and that. Gunsou forgot to breathe for a moment; a sense of familiarity seized him.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Berry Dragoon staggered, unsteady on his feet. His face was purple with rage as he charged. "I need a goddamn win today!"

"Look out!" Gunsou shouted instinctively. When Cul Seeker looked away, Berry Dragoon was less than a spear's length away from her, she had to get out of his way or be skewered.

In one smooth motion, she stuck out an outstretched hand to the side, triggered something, and was _pulled out of the way!_ A skill, or an ability? The gears in Gunsou's head turned as Berry Dragoon recovered from the charge and advanced on her. Cul Seeker held up her fists - thick gauntlets that seemed an ill fit on her slender forearms - and got into a fighting stance.

 _"You're too lightweight to spar with Dragoon like that!"_ Gunsou wanted to shout. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but at that instant, he saw Cul Seeker grin.

 _CLANG!_ A comically-loud sound filled the air as Cul Seeker punched Berry Dragoon's chin! She continued a quick combo of hits, striking his head and chest. She knocked his arms away and ducked low to sink two jabs into his waist. "She's good," Gunsou thought to himself, "Did someone train her to punch like that?" A name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't be sure. Her hits had technique, but they were too light to have any real impact. Soon enough, Berry Dragoon recovered and blocked a hook from her.

"Enough!" he yelled, and grabbed Cul Seeker's throat. Her squeak of surprise was cut off as he tightened his grip, and her hands clutched at Berry Dragoon's forearms, struggling to find purchase. He was stronger than her, tougher than her - she couldn't escape his vise grip. Berry Dragoon crouched down with his victim in hand; his Special Gauge drained and his legs glowed bright blue.

"I always wanted to try this once," he snarled, and jumped, taking Cul Seeker with him. Gunsou watched in horror as he lept up nearly ten metres, as tall as the shattered and dark streetlights along the paths, and slammed Cul Seeker into the ground. Her Health Gauge dropped like a stone to about ten percent.

A sense of dread settled into the pits of Gunsou's stomach as Berry Dragoon pummelled his defenseless opponent. As a spectator, he was physically restricted from interacting with opponents in a duel. Unless he requested to join their duel, which would make it a three-way… But both combatants had to agree. It would be absurd of Berry Dragoon to do that, to say nothing of this new and unknown player. And yet, the desire to do something, anything to help Cul Seeker gnawed at his indecision. Wasn't there anything he could do?

Cul Seeker's hand weakly rose up from the rubble that she was being pounded into. Berry Dragoon grasped her gauntlet, pulled it off her, and tossed it aside. It clattered to the ground like a discarded soda can. A few more hits, and she would be done for.

"Wait, what?"

Hugging him? Cul Seeker was hugging Berry Dragoon? She grasped Berry Dragoon's upper arm with her left, wrapped her legs around his waist. She continued to reach out at some unknown object, every slender finger of her right hand outstretched in yearning.

"—Rocket Grab."

A burst of red light, and Cul Seeker's right hand shot out of her arm! Gunsou's gaze followed it as it flew all the way up and eventually landed on the top of a building with a distant _ping!_

"Huh?" Berry Dragoon's confused expression was unmistakable from this distance. Cul Seeker drew him closer, and she said something too soft for him to hear.

 _Twang!_ The sound of tightening cables reverberated through the air. And Gunsou immediately understood as Cul Seeker now took Berry Dragoon for a ride, soaring into the air as high as birds. Her dodge earlier must have been something similar, a wire or cable that pulled her out of harm's way!

"Aaaahh!" Somewhere before they reached the apex of their flight, Cul Seeker must have let go of Berry Dragoon, because he began to scream. A long, unbroken shriek of agony as he fell, with no skill or ability that could save him.

WHAM! The landing mercifully cut short his suffering, and his remaining health evaporated. A message appeared in a dialog box: [CUL SEEKER WINS!] Gunsou swiped it away and strained his eyes to look for her. She was perched at the top of the building, bent over as though exhausted. He was too far to make out her expression, but he could see the faint red tint of her eyes. Was she looking at him, too?

He'd never find out, because a ring of red light, the same hue as her duel avatar, descended on her - she had logged out.

.

"It's him! Hey Kirie! You ratface!"

The shrilly electronic music and cacophony of the _pachinko_ machines were not enough to drown out the screeching boys from across the arcade. Kirie Ketsugou scowled and rubbed his eyes as he returned to his senses. His heart beat a violent tattoo against his chest, still feeling as though he was falling from a great height, tumbling out of control. "That damned girl," he hissed and gritted his teeth. Not only had she dodged all his attacks, but Cul Seeker had even used his tactic against him! He'd crush her to a pulp if they met again. When they meet again.

But right now, three gangly, skinny, and visibly angry boys were pushing through the arcade, bumping into middle-aged men with no soul behind their eyes, plainly focused on getting to him. He had to move fast. He pulled himself to his feet from the plastic chair he had been sitting in, dodged under the arms of someone shuffling out of the public toilet, and circled around to the dance arcades. He could make it to the exit if he stepped on a couple of toes. Might even be able to swipe a wallet.

His plans were dashed when he ran into a fourth boy, glaring menacingly at him. "Thief!" he shouted, "Scammer! Otaku no-life!" Kirie's arms were grabbed by the other boys, who had caught up to him by them. "We want our damn money back," he yelled. "You promised you'd get our Starbound Valley accounts to Level 10 by this week!"

"You guys are liars!" Kirie shouted back. "I already gave you the accounts! Get off me!" He tried to shake his right hand out of their grasp, but they were using all their strength to hold him in place.

The leader of the group - a scrawny kid who he only knew by his online name, "Ned", punched him in the forehead. He didn't have a lot of strength behind it, but it dazed Kirie for a moment. "No, you lied. You're the one screwing us out of things we paid for!"

They had drawn quite a commotion with their brawling and shouting. Someone stamped on Kirie's leg and made him fall. He struggled with Ned's henchmen - henchboys? - wondering how kids who weighed less than him could somehow hold him in a lock. "Ya'll hearing these morons?" He said loudly, "He cut a deal with me, but chickened out when it came to payment! I gave him what he asked for, and now he changed his mind! Does that sound like someone you'd trust?"

People were staring at him. At them, too. Ned seemed to balk at the idea of a public confrontation - did they think Kirie would just give up because they found him in the open?

You!" Kirie nodded at the fourth boy, "Don't listen to their shit. They're ganging up on me. Help!"

Even as the three of them redoubled their indignant shouts, Kirie glimpsed hesitation in his eyes. The boy holding his left arm bumped into a man hurriedly getting up from the closest _pachinko_ machine - distracting him for a second. Kirie kicked hard - knocking his leg aside. He stumbled, tripped, and collided with the _pachinko_ player, upsetting a container full of the shiny metal marbles, and sending it clattering to the ground! They rolled in a thousand directions, and the boys, still locked in a struggle, stepped on them and began to slip and slide.

Ned's other henchman finally loosened his grip on Kirie; he wriggled out and slapped the boy with his free hand. While his assailants struggled to regroup, Kirie fled the arcade, nearly tripping on a few marbles. He dashed through the streets and disappeared into the mass of people.

"Fuck this," he cursed, "Those idiots. Making me lose this place, cheating against me at Brain Burst, it's all shit!" A passerby glanced at him in alarm, but Kirie looked away and kept walking. What should he do now? He needed to find another place to recharge his Neuro Linker for free. It was only 3 in the afternoon, too early to go back to his house. There wouldn't be any food anyway. Probably have to nick some from a convenience mart again.

Kirie crossed the street and headed towards the nearest 8-11 mart. His life didn't use to be so bad. Hell, he could once remember not needing to worry about something as trivial as food. Then he had to start bullying kids for lunch money, and when he got caught for that, it meant bullying arcade players for their money, too. "Survival of the fittest" wasn't right. It was "Survival of the strongest."

As he was about to enter the 8-11, a boy he had never seen before briskly walked besides him, and poked him hard in the back. A knife. Kirie froze and he felt weak at the knees. Kirie should have seen the boy coming - should have realised that he might have been hiding something in the bulging pocket of his jacket.

"Berry Dragoon?" his mysterious assailant asked. "Are you Berry Dragoon in-game?"

"Y-Yes." He whimpered. Who was this person? How did he know he played Brain Burst?

"Pleasure to meet you, Berry Dragoon," the other boy said without a hint of irony in his voice. "I know you're running low on Burst Points. Let's talk - inside." He pushed Kirie into the 8-11, and Kirie cursed his misfortune.

.

To be continued!


End file.
